Kemsa says won’t pay for Sh2.9bn idle PPE

Kemsa warehouse at Embakasi on March 12, 2015. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By SAMWEL OWINO
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Summary

• The parliamentary Public Investment Committee heard on Tuesday that despite deliveries of the PPE to the agency, there is no documentation to back the supplies.
• Kemsa procurement manager Edward Buluma told the MPs that nine letters did not pass through the procurement office as was the norm.
• The Kemsa last week admitted that most companies awarded tenders were neither pre-qualified nor in the State agency’s database.

The Kenya Medical Supplies Agencies (Kemsa) has said it would not pay for a consignment of personal protective equipment (PPE) worth Sh2.9 billion currently in their stores after it emerged that there no proper documentation to facilitate the payments.

The parliamentary Public Investment Committee heard on Tuesday that despite deliveries of the PPE to the agency, there is no documentation to back the supplies.

Kemsa finance director Waiganjo Karanja told the Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir-led committee: “Mr chairman, I will not authorise any payment for any goods that don’t have proper documentation.”

It also emerged on Tuesday that some commitment letters given to suppliers were drafted in the office of suspended CEO Jonah Manjari and were given directly to the suppliers as required.

Kemsa procurement manager Edward Buluma told the MPs that nine letters did not pass through the procurement office as was the norm.

It is not clear why some letters by-passed the procurement office. The MPs claimed that is where fraud that led to the loss of billions of shillings was engineered.

Kemsa chief executive Edward Njoroge told MPs that by April, the agency had issued commitment letters to suppliers worth Sh5.4 billion, but only Sh169 million equipment had been delivered.

The board in a meeting on April 21 resolved to cancel all the commitment letters of the suppliers who did not deliver on the stipulated time.

This, however, did not happen as most suppliers delivered PPE past the deadline.

Mr Nassir questioned why Kemsa accepted the PPE from the suppliers, leading to the current stockpile.

The Kemsa last week admitted that most companies awarded tenders were neither pre-qualified nor in the State agency’s database.